Despite reaching a deadlock in his discussions with Italian side Napoli, Liverpool ‘keeper Pepe Reina isn’t ruling out a permanent switch to the side he helped win the Coppa Italia last season.
Although he’s insisted that all serious talk regarding his future will come following the World Cup, that hasn’t stopped the 31-year old from expounding on it at every possible opportunity. “Staying at Napoli? I think the possibility is there. It depends on Liverpool, Napoli and Pepe Reina” the ‘keeper told Radio Onda Cero, weirdly referring to himself in the third person in the process. “At Napoli I was very happy this year. I felt wanted and there is a project on the table there that makes you dream.” In Reina’s case, that means actually having a role to play…
With Reds boss Brendan Rodgers all but confirming that the Spaniard had played his last match for Liverpool, there’s little doubt that he’ll be moving on this summer. For the time being, Napoli is unwilling to meet Liverpool’s asking price — the well documented £4.1mil buy-out clause built into his newest contract. Though the price doesn’t seem unreasonable, when it’s combined with his high wage demands it starts to look a bit cumbersome, and his future once again starts to look murky.
“I’ve never ruled out the idea of staying at Napoli” he continued. “I have a contract with Liverpool and I need to go back there, but there is also a chance that I will leave again.”
That chance, of course, looks pretty good. With the shot-stoppers stock on Merseyside falling dramatically over the past two years, Simon Mignolet — brought in from Sunderland under the thin guise of providing competition for the veteran ‘keeper last summer — is the bosses clear favorite to keep his spot in the squad. With all that Reina has done for Liverpool since arriving from Villareal back in the summer of 2006, you can’t hope for anything but the best for the Spaniard, but in the same vein, his time on Merseyside has clearly come to an end.
